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Tom Cruise flew a plane and then left the cockpit unmanned for a stunt

I'm gobsmacked that there was no better way to film this... to the point I almost question the veracity of this story.

“I’m flying alongside him in a helicopter filming, and that made a big impression on me – there’s nobody in the cockpit of the plane! Tom has gone to the back of the aircraft, and he’s alone in that airplane. It’s one thing to have Tom Cruise alone in the airplane flying it – that’s already outrageous – now he’s alone and he’s not even in the cockpit so he’s gone beyond. It was already a stunt before he left the cockpit, it was already a serious stunt."

There are situations where a sole pilot can leave the cockpit, if the plane has a autopilot. But I can't imagine the 'stunt' described fit any of those circumstances, if it's true. Possibly they have informed the FAA in advance and made special arrangements or received special authorizations? Possibly the plane was controlled remotely when Cruz was not in the cockpit or maybe the altitude was higher than implied in the article?